by Minx Malone
The girl nodded frantically. “Yes. I’ve worked so hard to do a good job here. The people are nice and there’s always plenty to eat. The other girls and I even have a fireplace in our room. Please don’t make me go back.”
Nate glanced over at Ian. “So you were given a choice to return home or stay here?”
Sensing that they were on her side, the girl smiled tremulously through her tears. “Oh yes. My home is … I don’t want to go back there.”
Avan put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Then you don’t have to, Selene. You are welcome here for as long as you want. As long as it’s your choice.”
“Oh yes, sir. It is.”
“Thank you, Selene. You may go.”
Without a backward glance, the girl scampered from the room. The door closed behind her with a bang.
“Well. That was unexpected. It seems I have been deceived on multiple fronts. I fear that I am not the only one going mad.” He made a motion with his fist and all of the guards filed out of the room.
Nate and Gavin moved closer to Ian, one on each side, using their bodies to help him shield Morgan.
“Cousins, I apologize on behalf of my brethren for how they have wronged you. I understand if you feel compelled to open war against us but I hope I can make restitution.”
Ian wasn’t quite ready to let it go.
“I’m not sure restitution is even possible at this point. I was shot. My mate was taken by force. Nathan’s mate was drugged and kidnapped. Our parents were accused of treason and murdered. Gavin’s mate perished amidst the fighting. Too much has been taken from our family. Someone needs to pay.”
Avan flexed his fist, flashing the King’s signet ring, a dragon eye dating back to the early fourteen hundreds. In the span of this one meeting, his cousin seemed to have aged another decade.
“Too many lives. Too much blood,” he muttered.
He stared at his ring, like it held the key to solving all their problems. Unlike the rest of them, his pupils didn’t go back and forth between their normal color and their dragon color. His just stayed gold indicating how close he was to losing his grip on his humanity completely.
“Effective immediately all ex-communicated members of the Rivenell clan are reinstated. What happened in the past can’t be undone but together, we can forge a new path. It is done.”
His fist hit the desk, the sound ringing through the room. Ian closed his eyes, taken off guard by the memory of his father doing the same thing when he made a royal proclamation.
“Does this mean that we can come back?” he asked.
“Yes. If that’s what you want to do. If Nathan wants to take the crown, he can. You’re right. Too many wrongs have been committed against your kin by mine. Perhaps that’s why I have been cursed.”
They all looked at each other in disbelief. Had Avan seriously just abdicated in favor of Nate?
Gavin looked like he was ready to ask for the crown right then and there but Nate held up a hand. He shook his head at them. Ian immediately understood. Until they were sure this wasn’t a trick, they couldn’t trust anything Avan said or did. In his mental state, they couldn’t even be sure he would remember all of this next week.
Nate shook his head. “I’m not sure if that will work for us. We’ve built our own stronghold. But I accept the offer of peace. War benefits no one.”
“I have a request.”
Everyone turned to look at Gavin in shock.
“Name it,” Avan replied.
“I want access to the Rivenell library and archives. The information belongs to all of our clan members but it’s been restricted to only the royal family and their guests. I want to digitize it and make it available to all.”
There was silence and then the great boom of Avan’s fist hitting the desk again. “It is done.” He hit a button on his desk and a speaker crackled to life. “Our guests are leaving now. See that they aren’t disturbed.”
“It will be done. Anything else, my liege?”
“Yes. Bring my brothers to me.”
chapter ten
Ian would never know how he kept it together long enough to fly Morgan home. Her parents were at the cottage when they arrived. It was purely luck that he’d left his jeans in the clearing when he’d flown out earlier but he was grateful for it so he didn’t have to greet them naked. It was hours before they were able to calm them down. Once they were assured of Morgan’s safety and went back to their own home it was almost dark.
Morgan buried her face in his chest wearily. “I was so scared you wouldn’t find me in time. Do you know what scared me the most?”
“What’s that, angel?”
“That I would never have the chance to tell you I love you.”
“I love you, too. More than life.” Ian grabbed her around the waist and held her tight. He’d been forced to confront his worst fear that day. The thought of living without her was everything nightmares were made of.
It made him feel incredibly selfish, especially since he could tell she was exhausted, but he really wanted to take her back to his den. After everything that had happened, he didn’t think he could rest easy in such an open dwelling. He and his brothers had built their dens partially underground and they each had state of the art security. He wanted his mate in a secure location where he could keep watch over her.
“What’s the matter? You’re shaking.” Morgan ran her hands up and down his back.
“I want to take you back to my den. My dragon doesn’t like having you out in the open. In fact, he might not let you out of sight for a few days.”
Morgan smiled knowingly. “Hmm. I think he just wants an excuse to keep me naked in bed.”
Ian instantly went hard. “He’s not the only one.”
She walked into her bedroom. Ian watched as she threw clothes into a small bag. He moved out of the way so she could get to the bathroom. Finally she emerged with a bright smile. “I’m ready to go.”
Relieved that he didn’t have to convince her, Ian stripped and handed her his jeans. She bit her lip teasingly as she folded them and placed them in her bag.
“I’ll never get tired of that view.”
He chuckled as she led him outside. Since he hadn’t brought anything to tie her to his back, he would have to fly very carefully. Morgan seemed to realize the danger at the same time he did. Then she held up a finger and went back into the cottage. She reemerged a few minutes later with two bed sheets. She tied the ends together to make one long length.
“What are you going to do with that?”
“You can bite it and then I can hold the ends. Kind of like the bridle on a horse!”
Ian groaned. “If my brothers see this, they will never let me live it down.”
Morgan laughed and spread the sheet on the ground. He shifted and then picked up the sheet, biting it right in the middle. Morgan ran around him pulling the ends onto his back. Then she climbed on carefully, using his wing as a step stool. He couldn’t see what she was doing so he could only hope she was tying herself in place.
A few minutes later, she patted his back. “This is as good as it’s going to get, I think.”
He pushed off with his feet, extending his wings to catch the air current. Morgan’s happy squeal rang out behind them. One day he would take her riding with a proper harness again so she could experience his mountains the way he did. But for now, he took the most direct and least exciting route home. Twenty minutes later, they landed in the clearing behind his den.
Morgan hopped down and then backed away slowly. Ian spit out the sheet and then shifted. Their eyes met and then she ran to him. He caught her and carried her inside, ensconced safely in his arms.
It was dark in his den but he didn’t bother turning on any lights, just walked through the living room and down the hall to his bedroom. He set her down on the bed gently. Morgan dropped her bag and didn’t even look down when it fell to the floor. With her eyes on his, she pulled her shirt over her head. Her bra followed.
“You get more beautiful every time I see you,” he whispered.
It was true. In the short time they’d been together, Morgan had blossomed. No longer quite as shy, she enjoyed showing off her plush, sexy body for his enjoyment. While he watched, she stuck one finger in her mouth teasingly.
“Can you help me get these off?”
She lifted her hips so he could pull her jeans down. Next, he hooked his fingers in the sides of her panties and pulled them down, sliding them over her smooth thighs and calves as he went.
He crawled over her, reveling in the sensations of her soft skin sliding against his. She hummed and wrapped her legs around him. When she arched her back, the line of her throat caught his attention. His fangs descended.
Mark her. Mate her.
“Angel, I want to mark you so badly. But I won’t if you’re not ready for it.”
She raised her head slightly. “Mark me?”
“When we bite our mates, our venom gives them certain protections. You’ll be stronger, faster, live longer. The only downside is it binds you to me permanently. There won’t be any getting rid of me after that. It’ll be the two of us forever.”
She kissed him softly. “Forever sounds pretty good to me.”
Suddenly nervous, Ian nuzzled into her cleavage, trying to summon the calm to make it good for her. He knew that his fangs contained a venom that would numb the bite so it didn’t hurt her for long but he wanted to make it as painless as possible.
Licking down between the soft mounds of her breasts, he circled her belly button with soft little kisses. She sighed and moaned. He soaked up every little sound until he was sure she was relaxed and ready. His thumb tapped her clit and came away soaked. Her arousal was all over him but he gripped his cock and brushed it through the moisture.
She moaned long and low. “Ian, stop torturing me.”
“Just getting you ready for me, angel. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Holding himself above her with one arm, he pushed into her tight little pussy. Immediately she clamped down on him and Ian gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to come already. Damn this woman tested him!
Mark her. Mate her. Bind her.
When she lifted her hips, taking him all the way in, Ian gripped her under her shoulders to hold her still. He circled his hips and she cried out, her helpless little whimpers driving him crazy.
His dragon grumbled approvingly at his mate’s pleasure. It was everything he needed to hear her soft cries and feel the tight, clenching grasp of her pussy as he made love to her. He could tell when she was getting close because her thighs trembled and she jerked her hips harder. Steadying her with his hands on her waist, he thrust up. Her head fell back and she came apart with a long moan.
Ian bit her on the side of the neck. The sensation of his fangs sliding into her skin sent him soaring. Her hands came up to grab at his back, her nails scratching at his back as she screamed and shuddered beneath him. His own orgasm crashed through him, leaving him completely wrecked. His fangs retracted and he pulled back so he could see her. There was a blissed out almost intoxicated look on her face. She turned and then pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek.
He brushed her hair back and just looked at his mate. Already he could feel her emotions. She was … happy.
Abruptly she started laughing. When she saw his startled expression, she only laughed harder. “This has been the craziest day. That was quite an introduction to your family, babe.”
He chuckled, too. “I bet. I still can’t believe my cousins actually thought their crazy plan would find a mate for the King? You know the funniest thing?”
She raised an eyebrow.
“It worked, just not in the way they intended. They found a mate for the true king. Nate would have never met Evie if he hadn’t rescued her that day. And if they hadn’t shot me down right over your land, I would have never met you.”
Her hands slid into his hair and she rested her forehead against his. “Which would have been a tragedy. I hate that you got hurt but I’m so glad I get to have you in my life.”
He pulled her closer until she snuggled right up under his arm, her head resting on his chest. Right where she was supposed to be.
“Welcome home, angel.”
She tightened her arms around him. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than here with you.”
Gavin Drake gripped the test tube in his fingers tightly and took a deep breath. The liquid inside bubbled and roiled and he knew he only had a few minutes to decide. The potion had to be ingested at exactly thirty seven degrees Celsius to be effective.
He thought back on all the years alone, the years pining for the love of the one woman he could never have. His last memories of Kitaana were brutal, images that no man should have to live with. His mate had been struck down in the chaos of battle when he was too young to protect her. Life for him was a constant state of agony. Not only was he forced to exist without her but he didn’t even have the comfort of knowing she’d died peacefully.
Now he was finally in the position to be able to end the agony.
He raised the test tube. If this went wrong, it would hurt his brothers. It was the only thing that gave him second thoughts. He’d left extensive written notes and his apprentice Jonas had helped him develop the potion. If it didn’t work, the boy could continue his research and one day find a cure. But they’d never find the cure if they didn’t test the potion.
And honestly, he was ready for it, whatever the outcome. Because dying sounded better than living another day without his mate.
Before he could change his mind, he put the tube to his lips and gulped the contents down in one mouthful. Heat spread down his throat and through his torso. The tube in his hand fell to the floor and shattered as his entire body spasmed. Pain wracked his body and tears leaked from his eyes as he curled into himself. He fell forward onto the table and then slid to the floor.
Gavin wasn’t sure how much time passed before he was pulled into a warm embrace. He opened his eyes. A familiar pair of gray eyes stared down at him.
That’s it then, he thought. I’ve passed over to the other side. I’m with my mate again. Mi tesarik.
But his mate didn’t look happy, the way he always imagined she would be in heaven. If anything, she looked pissed off. But her touch was gentle as she stroked his hair back. “What the hell were you thinking Gavaanik?”
Gavin closed his eyes. He wouldn’t have thought it was possible for him to experience any greater pain but he would have been wrong. Because all this time, it seemed that his mate hadn’t been in heaven.
She was alive but just hadn’t wanted to be with him.
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Have you read the other MATING FEVER books yet?
DRAGON SHIFTERS
- Minx Malone
Nathan’s Heart, Brotherhood of Bandits
- Saranna DeWylde
Ondrej, Drago Knights MC
- Ronin Winters
Mica, Dragon Horde
- Elsa Jade
Dragon Fever, Masters of the Flame
BEAR SHIFTERS
- V. Vaughn
Andre, Rocked by the Bear
- Elle Thorne
Cross, Barely After Dark
- Kenzie Cox
Cyrus, Black Bear Outlaws
- Selene Charles
Chance, Bears of Kodiak
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Other Titles available by M. Malone
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BROTHERHOOD OF BANDITS
Nathan's Heart / Ian's Fall / Gavin's Curse
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y Romance * *
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3. He's the Man / 3.5 Christmas w/The Alexanders
4. All I Need is You / 5. Say You Will
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
NYT & USA Today Bestselling author Minx Malone lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with her three favorite guys: her husband and their two sons. She likes dramatic opera music, staid old men wearing suspenders, claw-foot bathtubs, and unexpected surprises. The thing she likes best is getting to make up stuff for a living.
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Ian’s Fall
Copyright © April 2016 Minx Malone
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address CrushStar Romance, 2885 Sanford Ave SW #16301, Grandville, MI 49418
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ISBN-13: 978-1-938789-35-9